Human Impact Project

Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, a 42-year-old DACA recipient who had lived in the United States for 27 years after arriving in 1998 at age 15, was arrested and deported to Mexico on February 18, 2025, during a green card interview at a USCIS office in Sacramento, California. Immigration agents cited a 1998 expedited removal order from her initial border crossing, despite her valid DACA status, lack of criminal history, and previous federal approvals to remain in the country. She was removed within 24 hours. Following a lawsuit by her attorneys, U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins issued a temporary restraining order on March 23, 2025, ruling the deportation a "flagrant violation" of her DACA protections and due process rights. Estrada Juarez was granted humanitarian parole and reentered the United States on March 30, 2025, at the San Ysidro border crossing, where she was reunited with her daughter.

Everlee Amelia Wihongi, a 37-year-old New Zealand citizen and lawful permanent resident who moved to the U.S. at age six, was detained by CBP at Los Angeles International Airport on April 10, 2026, upon returning from a family trip to New Zealand for an uncle's 80th birthday. DHS cited a 2014 felony conviction for THC possession in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, as grounds for detention, saying it rendered her inadmissible. During her transfer to the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona, she was forced to sleep on the floor while shackled for 14 hours, denied food and water, and not permitted to bathe. She was transferred between facilities in California, Texas, Montana, and Arizona without notice to her family or attorney, causing her to miss a scheduled legal meeting. Her brother Avaiiki said ICE was "largely unresponsive" and offered the family little more than instructions for his sister to "stay compliant." New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said consular officials were assisting but could not intervene in U.S. immigration decisions. DHS said Wihongi was placed in removal proceedings and will remain in custody.

A noncitizen in removal proceedings was detained at Adelanto ICE Processing Center on May 21, 2026 without prior explanation or hearing after missing seven biometric check-ins over ten months in the ISAP program. He had been released on his own recognizance in 2024 and was complying with release conditions while his asylum and withholding of removal application was pending. An immigration judge denied his post-detention bond hearing, citing Matter of Q. Li. The federal court granted his habeas petition, finding his detention violated due process because he was not provided pre-deprivation process and ordered his immediate release on the original conditions of release.

Etinosa Osahon, a 49-year-old Nigerian lawful permanent resident who came to the U.S. in 2002, was granted protection under the Convention Against Torture in 2012 after an immigration judge found Nigerian officials had tortured him, tying him to a tree, beating him, hanging him from a ceiling and forcing him to stare at the sun. He lived in California with his U.S. citizen wife and three U.S. citizen children and complied with ICE supervision for 14 years. In May, he was detained by ICE at what he believed was a routine check-in at the agency's Los Angeles field office and deported through Ghana toward Nigeria. After Ghanaian officials said he would be sent on to Nigeria, he fled into hiding in neighboring Togo, where his attorneys say he has contracted malaria and lacks legal status or medical care. A federal judge found the government likely acted in "flagrant violation" of his due-process rights and its own regulations by removing him without revoking his supervision or torture protections, and ordered officials to disclose his location and detail steps to bring him back.

Rafie Ollah Shouhed, a 79-year-old U.S. citizen and owner of Valley Car Wash in Van Nuys, California, was physically assaulted by immigration agents during a September 9, 2025 raid on his business. When Shouhed questioned the operation and attempted to vouch for employees being arrested, masked agents forced him to the ground. Surveillance footage shows an agent striking him while three agents tackled him as he pleaded for an ambulance, stating he had recently undergone heart surgery and couldn't breathe. One agent pressed a knee on his neck while applying additional physical force. The incident resulted in broken ribs, an injured elbow, and post-concussive symptoms of a traumatic brain injury. Shouhed was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center and held for 12 hours without medical attention before being released without charges. He filed a $50 million civil rights lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A woman identified as a parent was detained by federal agents just outside a North Hollywood elementary school immediately after dropping off her children on Wednesday morning. Witnesses recorded the detention in tactical gear near campus, and the incident sparked concern among parents about law enforcement activity near schools. No federal agency officially identified itself or stated a reason for the detention as of the latest reports.

A 53-year-old Laotian refugee and lawful permanent resident was abruptly re-detained by ICE on May 19, 2026, during a routine check-in after being on supervised release for over 20 years. He came to the U.S. as a child refugee in 1979 due to his father's service with the CIA in the Secret War in Laos. The federal court granted a temporary restraining order and ordered his immediate release, finding violations of due process and ICE regulations.

A father was detained by ICE on February 26, 2026, while on his way to pick up his children from school near Escondido Library in Escondido, California. As the family's primary wage earner, his detention left the family without income, and they exhausted their savings on legal fees while falling three months behind on rent. The family launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal costs and basic living expenses. With help from legal aid organization Clue Justice, the family secured the remaining funds needed for his $4,000 bond by May 18, 2026, and he was set to be released. Clue Justice warned that DHS could appeal the case if his release did not happen quickly.

A noncitizen previously released on bond or conditional parole was detained on May 18, 2026, at Central Valley Annex Detention Facility after having been previously released on bond or conditional parole. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California found that the Due Process Clause requires the government to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter before re-detaining a noncitizen who was previously released. The government failed to provide such a hearing before detaining him. The court granted his petition for a writ of habeas corpus and motion for temporary restraining order, finding his case indistinguishable from prior decisions establishing this constitutional requirement. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to prior to his May 18, 2026 detention, and prohibited the government from imposing additional restrictions unless determined necessary at a future pre-deprivation hearing. If the government seeks to re-detain him, it must provide at least seven days' notice and hold a constitutionally compliant pre-deprivation bond hearing.

A California man who arrived in the U.S. as a young boy with refugee status and held a green card had his sentence commuted in 2018. Instead of being released, he was shackled and transferred to an ICE processing center. After spending close to a year in ICE detention, he was released to continue his immigration case through the courts. In subsequent years he started a family and obtained employment. After the courts vacated his conviction last year, ICE has not recognized the case as cleared and a final deportation order remains in effect.

Ursula Gomez completed over two decades in California state prison and participated in rehabilitation programs and college coursework. Upon her release in July 2024, the California Department of Corrections transferred her to ICE custody rather than releasing her. After 11 months in multiple ICE detention centers, facing threats of deportation to countries she had no ties to, Gomez agreed to voluntary removal to Mexico, the country she left at age 5. She was deported later in 2024.

Vivian Do's father was detained by ICE on March 5 at a GEO processing facility in Adelanto, California. Despite legal assurances and ICE's own notification that he would not be moved until June 5, he was transferred without notice on May 14, flown from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and deported to Vietnam the same day. The family had spent over $50,000 in legal fees seeking his release.

A man detained by ICE in March after 30 years in the U.S. was released this month after an immigration judge vacated a decades-old drug conviction from 1999 and restored his lawful permanent resident status. The judge found he had not been informed of immigration consequences when he entered the plea. His case is among roughly 19 Laotian cases handled by the Seattle Clemency Project this year, part of a broader enforcement sweep affecting longtime residents in the region.

The petitioner has been held in immigration detention since May 15, 2026, at the Golden State Annex Detention Facility. He was subject to discretionary detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) after having previously been released on bond, conditional parole, or humanitarian parole. He filed a habeas corpus petition and a motion for a temporary restraining order, arguing that the government re-detained him without providing a constitutionally required pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The government conceded that the case was not distinguishable from the court's prior rulings finding such re-detention unconstitutional. The court agreed, finding the Due Process Clause required a pre-deprivation bond hearing before re-detention. The court granted the habeas petition and TRO, ordering his immediate release under the same conditions he had before detention, and required the government to give seven days' notice and hold a bond hearing before any future re-detention.

Loba, a transgender woman from El Salvador, was detained at California City ICE detention center for six months in 2025. She experienced sexual harassment and intimidation from guards while housed in male dormitories. Due to the traumatic conditions and lack of support for LGBTQ+ detainees, she signed voluntary departure paperwork and self-deported to El Salvador.

Jose Francisco Orellana-Rivera, a Honduran who entered the U.S. as a 4-year-old in 2001 and is a DACA recipient married to a U.S. citizen with two U.S.-citizen children, was detained by ICE without a pre-detention hearing. U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera ruled the detention violated his constitutional rights and due process protections, ordering ICE to release him immediately and barred re-detention without a proper bond hearing. He was arrested six times as an adult between 2016 and 2025, but all charges were dismissed and he has no criminal convictions.

Otis Nicholas Ffriend, a Jamaican LGBTQ asylum seeker who had been granted Convention Against Torture withholding of removal in November 2024, was arrested without a warrant by ICE agents at his California home on May 1, 2026. He had been complying with supervision requirements and living with his U.S. citizen wife. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release and barring re-detention without a hearing. After the government moved to dissolve the order, U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick granted a preliminary injunction on May 14, 2026, continuing Ffriend's release pending further proceedings. The government has since appealed the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

A Salvadoran woman who was previously under an order of supervision and had been granted withholding of removal to El Salvador was re-detained by ICE on May 14, 2026 after her supervised release was revoked. The court found that ICE violated federal regulations by failing to provide adequate notice of revocation reasons and conducting the required informal interview on the same day as detention. The court ordered her immediate release, finding the revocation procedures unlawful.

Marlon Juvenal Chavez Merchan, a native and citizen of Ecuador, is currently detained at Otay Mesa Detention Facility in ICE custody. He filed a habeas corpus petition alleging that ICE violated his due process rights by detaining him without a bond determination hearing. The court conditionally appointed counsel and issued a limited stay to prevent his removal from the district pending a reasoned decision.

Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations executed coordinated search warrants on May 13-14, 2026, targeting VC Defensa, an immigrant rights organization in Ventura County, California. Over 100 agents raided the homes of multiple volunteers and the organization's Oxnard office, seizing electronic devices including phones, computers, and USB drives. During the operations, agents pointed guns at residents, handcuffed activist Leonardo Martinez and the 16-year-old son of volunteer Alexandria Quintanar, and broke down doors. No arrests were made and authorities did not publicly disclose the basis for the searches or specific criminal allegations. All detainees were released from federal custody, and VC Defensa and allied organizations stated they would contest the raids in court.